Darkfallen
Darkfallen are a unique kind of undead blood elf in service to the Scourgehttp://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p3/icecrown-raid.xml that were raised as undead following Illidan's failed assault on the Frozen Throne. Introduction The Darkfallen is a race of vampiric undead blood elves, under the command of the Blood-Queen Lana'thel. They are a recent addition to the Scourge army, introduced after Arthas' second visit to Northrend. They possess their own racial faction, the San'layn, which plays an important role in the Scourge army. The greatest concentrations of darkfallen are located in the Temple City of En'kilah in northeastern Borean Tundra, and in the Crimson Hall inside Icecrown Citadel; these are also the only places where unnamed darkfallen appear. History .]] In the aftermath of the Third War, the blood elves were cut off from their source of magic, the Sunwell. Desperate for aid, their prince Kael'thas Sunstrider pledged allegiance to Illidan Stormrage who granted them a new source of magic.http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/implemented/2p4.xml#sunwellplateau Together with their new allies, the blood elves went to Northrend in an attempt to destroy the Lich King, seeking to avenge their fallen brethren. The blood elves were defeated by Arthas, who raised the most powerful ones into his service as darkfallen of the San'layn. Most of the surviving blood elves returned to Outland with Kael'thas, but a handful were lost and scattered in the frozen wastes of Northrend, where they were hunted down and slaughtered by Arthas. One of these survivors was Lana'thel. Although she wielded the draconic blade Quel'Delar, she was no match for the power of Frostmourne and was overwhelmed. The Lich King chose Lana'thel to serve him in undeath as the queen of the San'layn.http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p3/queldelar.xml The darkfallen now oversee the Scourge's operations throughout Azeroth, with their masters residing in The Crimson Hall. Appearance Darkfallen retain the builds of their still-living kin. Blood elves are tall and lithe with athletic builds, typically standing just taller than a human, can be a little over 6 feet and weighing somewhat less, between 100 to 175 pounds.World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, pg.36 However, unlike blood elves, their eyes have white, green or black glows and their flesh appears necrotic and, though universally pale, ranges from fleshy pinks and red to gray and light green, and they tend to have either white, blond or dark hair. Some Darkfallen have clawed fingers and ears more closely resembling those of a bat; in addition, a few have developed wings and horns. Culture Darkfallen infantry classes, most of the times, dress in typical Scourge attire,Darkfallen Bloodbearer while the High Priests and Blood Princes (also known as Blood Lords) dress in red and black garments, similar to their living cousins, the blood elves. They are vampiric in nature, especially in the case of the Blood Princes, who are known to consume the flesh, blood, and souls of their victims. Apart from their stylish and vampiric habits, the darkfallen fall in line with the Scourge practice of utilizing the architecture and technology of assimilated cultures,The Decree of the Scourge such as that of the nerubians.War of the Spider (History of Warcraft) Such practice made the Scourge incorporate the blood elven culture, which can be seen on the decoration of parts of the Icecrown Citadel. They are often found in strongholds of other Scourge-affiliated races alongside with it's local leadership, or in command of Scourge bases or operations across Northrend. The darkfallen are skilled in a variety of magic schools, including necromancy, often make use of vampiric skills that involve blood, and have even demonstrated some shape-shifting abilities. The San'layn The San'layn is the Darkfallen racial facton of the Scourge. They oversee the Scourge's operations throughout Azeroth, acting as agents, leaders, or ambassadors.http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/features/dungeons/utgarde.xml The faction holds an important position amongst the Scourge offensive Elder Ko'nani, with it's members, most of the times, performing important tasks on the behalf of the Lich King.Quest:Out of Body ExperienceQuest:Chamber of Secrets They possess two main bases of operations across Northrend. The Temple City of En'kilah, serves as the command center of the Scourge in the Borean Tundra, with the floating necropolis Naxxanar floating above the city, where lives the overlord of the operation, Prince Valanar. The Crimson Hall is the headquarters and home of the San'layn, located inside the Icecrown Citadel, it's the place where the most powerful San'layn can be found. Blood-Queen Lana'thel holds the leading position in the San'layn hierarchy. The Blood princes, speacially the Blood Prince Council, are the second in the chain of command of the faction, often recieving direct orders from the Lich King himself. The only darkfallen not tagged as San'layn are High Priest Andorath in Borean Tundra, Prince Navarius in Zul'Drak, Prince Taldaram in Ahn'kahet, and Prince Sandoval in Icecrown. Notable darkfallen Ranks and types * - Dweller of the Crimson Hall * - Retainer of Prince Valanar. * - Dweller of the Crimson Hall * - Dweller of the Crimson Hall * - Retainer of Prince Valanar. * - Dweller of the Crimson Hall * - Dweller of the Crimson Hall * - Dweller of the Crimson Hall Trivia Bestiary The Darkfallen were part of the "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Bestiary",http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/features/bestiary/index.xml meaning they are a creature type like all other new races described there, while the San'layn are referred as a "group" in at least one source. Vampire inspiration The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King includes two pieces of concept art for the race; the first, titled "High Elf Nosferatu", is clearly inspired by Count Orlok from the classic German silent film Nosferatu, while the second depicts what appears to be a high elf with stitched-together flesh, dressed in elegant armor and wielding wing-like arrays of shields across his arms, which double as weapon racks, holding a number of blades. The darkfallen, specifically the Princes, appear to be strongly inspired by the portrayals of vampires in both film and fiction, having bat-like ears, wearing cloaks with high collars and masks with fang patterns over their mouths. They also display mannerisms and characteristics strongly associated with the classic vampires of film and fiction, such as Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula, and even have voice acting with a similar accent. Additional references have also been made to the Castlevania series of video games by Konami. Vrykul origin Early reports (of unknown accuracy) about the WotLK Alpha implied that what is now the darkfallen were vrykul wearing the Malefic Raimenthttp://www.wowwiki.com/index.php?title=Prince_Keleseth&oldid=798750. Later, but before they got their current model, they were changed to elves wearing the Malefic Raiment.Prince Valanar's old model Chris Metzen said at BlizzCon 2007 that the vrykul were vampiric, something that is not visited in-game. It may be that the darkfallen were the vampiric vrykul, but the idea that they were vrykul was scrapped. Speculation It is believed that the word "San'layn" is possibly Thalassian for "Darkfallen". References External links ru:Мракопадшие Category:Darkfallen Category:Wrath of the Lich King